When Treasure Brings Trouble
by SonicScrewball
Summary: A story about Manic before he met Sonic and Sonia. When Manic finds a mysterious treasure, he soon lands himself into all sorts of mayhem. Set in the Sonic Underground universe, except with modern characters. Some Manouge though this isn't the focus of the story.
1. The Treasure

**It only took me 9 years to actually get off of my behind and write a Manic fanfic. Enjoy! Criticism appreciated.**

\--

Creeping around in the dark was all Manic had known for what felt like hours at this point, he and the rest of the Mouse Patrol had been sent out by Farrell to map out some new shortcuts and secret pathways around the city, and of course Manic had been sent to the sewers.

The young hedgehog cursed and muttered under his breath, fed up of feeling like a filthy rat down in the muck. Though this was like a second home to him, even Manic had his limits, and he felt on edge being in such unfamiliar parts of the city.

Turning around another corner, he was practically almost blinded by the sudden light that hit him. Manic swore and shielded his eyes, creeping closer to the light he finally made out an emerald, he grabbed it and immediately felt warmer, as if the emerald contained some kind of power within.

He grinned and tossed the emerald into the air, catching it smoothly before closely examining it. "This'll fetch a hefty price, I better fetch it back to Farrell." He turned around and started running, retracing his steps down the sewer tunnels that he'd mapped.

All of the children in the Mouse Patrol were taught to map out unfamiliar sewers, to avoid getting lost in such an environment. Manic had always been one of the best of Farrell's students. Farrel was like a father to Manic, who'd been adopted by him, who was also the leader of a group of thieves and a powerful figure in the criminal underworld of Robotropolis.

Despite Farrell's dangerous reputation, he was surprisingly soft on children, and often took in orphans and trained them on how to survive and steal in order to contribute to the group. All of the kids still learning were put into the Mouse Patrol until Farrell deemed them master thieves. This was Manic's goal and had been since for as long as he could remember.

On his way back to the group hideout, he took a quick turn to a set of ladders leading out into an alleyway. "Finally." Manic breathed. "Some fresh air. A hedgehog like me just doesn't get along with all that dirt."

He took out the emerald once again, admiring it fully now that it was out in the daylight, Manic could appreciate how bright and colourful the emerald was. It looked extremely valuable.

Manic knew he could get straight to the hideout if he kept to the sewers, he didn't want to stay down there for another minute, and so he set off deeper into the city, glad to be outside despite the constantly depressing atmosphere of Robotropolis. The cold oppressive buildings and patrolling Swatbots was all that Manic had ever known, and so he knew and treated every metal gate, rotating camera and sudden turn into a dark ditch like the back of his palm.

All of the older Mobians Manic knew often spoke of how things used to be, before Robotnik took the throne from the mysterious Queen Aleena, who had been on the run and rarely sighted ever since the fall of her kingdom.

Manic himself had grown up in this dark new world Robotnik had created, despite being only a child Manic was used to violence and was already hardened and mature thanks to the rough upbringing. Even his body language was toughened, he walked with a slight swagger in his gait, silently telling anyone nearby that he wasn't going to be their victim, and that they'd better stay away.

Manic finally came to a stop, the hideout entrance was just around the corner now, hidden from everyone else, only those in Farrel's group could pinpoint all of the telltale signs that this was one of the hideout entrances in Robotropolis.

Every entrance in the city was well concealed, considering Farrell was a wanted criminal, with his impending punishment being Robotosization, it was no surprise that the thieves kept so secretive with such a threat. Many considered Robotosization worse than death, locked in a metallic shell unable to control yourself, though still able to watch as you destroy your loved ones against your will.

Manic shuddered just thinking about it, though he shook it off and ducked into the entrance, he immediately went towards Farrell's room, where the large insectoid was inspecting all of the latest stolen items that other thieves had brought back for him.

"Ah, Manic. Have you really mapped out the western sewers already?" Farrell watched Manic closely, he knew that Manic often goofed off sometimes, though he could tell Manic had something up this time, just by the gleam in his amber eyes.

"I came back early. Farrell, check this out!" Manic reached into his bag, but found only empty air.

"Wait- it was just there!" Manic looked up only to find Farrell grinning at him, the emerald in his claws.

The thief winked at Manic before setting the emerald on his desk. "Where'd you find this, Mani?" Farrell questioned, using Manic's old nickname affectionately. "If this emerald is what I think it is, it's extremely rare. Infact, there's only a few on the planet."

Manic's ears perked up at that, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "It can't be, I found that thing in the sewers, it's probably just some jewelry some nobel flushed down the toilet. It wouldn't be the first time I found something like that down there." Manic stared at the emerald, which was still shining just as bright as ever. It certainly looked different compared to usual jewels.

"I'm certain of it." Farrell growled. "Though you may be right, I should take this emerald to someone I know, he's a collector and he knows all about these kinds of treasures found on Mobius. If this really is one of the rare emeralds, he'll know it."

Manic nodded, already turning around to head away, though stopped when Farrell put his hand on Manic's shoulder. "Mani, wait."

Manic frowned and turned around, facing him. "This emerald you've found and brought to me, Mani. Is worth more than you could understand. I think it's about time I consider you a real thief, you've earned it."

Farrell tightened his grip briefly, before giving Manic a final pat on the head, which caused Manic to instinctively duck out of the way, though with a big smile on his face. "Thanks Ferrell! This is way too cool, I gotta tell the others!"

He took off without another word, heading for the main room in the hideout, where meals were prepared and eaten.

The room was lit up warmly by the fireplace, stood nearby a pot full of slow cooking stew, which was surrounded by many different sorts of chairs and stools. They'd been picked up from anywhere and taken to the hideout, and so most of the furniture was completely mismatched. The whole hideout was full of random items. Though retained a warm atmosphere despite the messiness.

Usually other members of the group were lounging around in this room, though to Manic's disappointment the room was empty. "Bummer. They all must still be out." Manic was far too impatient to wait for them to get back, and so he set out to look for them, leaving through one of the hidden exist holes into the evening light.

"Damn." Manic cursed in surprise, he hadn't expected it to be so late already, soon it would be dark out, and it would be dangerous for him to be out alone and vulnerable.

Though not completely vulnerable, Manic reflected, putting his hand by his bag, right where his pocket knife was concealed. All young thieves on the street were taught how to fight and defend themselves with any weapons they can get. The one most often used being the knife. Manic was practically a master at using it after years of practice.

Manic decided to head for the abandoned church, it was crumbling apart and covered in graffiti. The roof had been lit on fire, and the whole building looked haunted, so most Mobians stayed away from it. Manic knew that within the church many of his friends loitered there often, and to his disgust, indulged in drugs.

Ferrell had taught all of them to stay away from drugs, Manic himself had seen what drugs can do to someone, how they can slowly kill even the strongest fighter and turn them weak and desperate. The kids only did cannabis, avoiding harder drugs, though Manic himself still heavily disapproved.

He headed over to the entrance, but was suddenly stopped when something hit him in the stomach, winding him.

He flinched back and glared up at his attacker, posed ready to fight back, but then relaxed when he saw who it was. "Colin, you jerk. What was that for?" Manic reached up and punched the doberman's shoulder, who didn't seem phased at all by Manic's reaction.

"You were clearly begging for it, the way you was staring into space, you didn't even hear me coming up behind ya, Mani." Colin snorted, with a smirk he looked down at the ruffled hedgehog. "So, what is your green sorry hide even doing here? Finally gotten off your high horse and decided to join us?"

Manic shook his head stubbornly. "No way dude, that stuff you do is wack. I'm just looking for my Mouse Patrol buds, I got something big to tell em."

"Oh really?" Colin peered down closely at Manic, curiosity brightened his brown gaze. "What's this big thing coming from such a small rodent? I'm mighty interested." Manic growled and flipped him off, stepping back from the hound, who was far too close, and annoying, for comfort.

"Well, slimenose, you're looking at an honorary thief. I'm not a Mouse Patrol kid anymore." Manic felt his chest swell with pride at the thought of it.

"My, an official scumbag. Congratulations, kid." The dog grunted before taking a quick swipe at the bristling hedgehog, who punched Colin right back. "Youch, I'd better quit pissing you off before you actually manage to bruise me." Colin massaged the black fur along his arm that Manic had caught, in mock pain.

Manic turned away, feeling far too annoyed with the dog to answer back. Though he knew Colin didn't mean it. Colin was a guard, which was a rather stereotypical, predictable position for a doberman, but Manic never dared pointing that out. Colin was in charge of taking out any troublemakers who tried to bring violence into the old church. Colin just loved any excuse to bash a few heads in, and had a completely insufferable personality as a result.

"Just cool it already Col, if my friends aren't here I'll beat it." Manic turned around, ready to leave.

"Mani, your friends haven't been here all day. I woulda smelled their stench otherwise. Hell, I can still smell the sewers on your fur, you really have no shame, Mani." Colin called to the departing hedgehog. Manic reddened slightly at that, though glad that Colin couldn't see it. He cursed internally, he'd forgotten about washing up after the trip to the sewers, too excited about finding his friends. He decided to take to the alleyways, where he'd run into less people on the way to his next destination.

The sky was getting darker, and Manic started to contemplate if he should just go back to the hideout to see if they'd returned during his absence. Though after getting riled up by Colin, Manic didn't feel like going back too soon. He felt like he needed to be alone to cool down, and the hideout was always noisy at this time of day, with dinner just about to be served.

Ah, dinner. Manic's stomach growled at the thought. He would miss it by the time he returned, though Manic had other ways of getting fed. He left the alleyway and turned onto the road, it was quiet and he crossed it quickly, looking around for a good target.

He kept walking until he spotted a vending machine, full of sandwiches. Manic smirked, he knew exactly how to deal with these. He casually walked towards it, whistling a tune, before knocking on the bottom of the machine to the left three times. Almost immediately two sandwiches fell from the machine, right into Manic's other hand.

"My magic hands win again. This just gets easier and easier". Manic bragged whilst chewing a mouthful of sandwich. He swallowed it and focused on the next sandwich before a sudden screech made him choke in shock.

"THIEF DETECTED. SURRENDER TO ROBOTNIK NOW." Manic dropped the sandwich and gasped, he'd been so distracted by his hunger that he hadn't spotted the nearby Swatbot. It was approaching him now, ready to grab him and take him to Robotnik, where he'd be Robotised.

"There's no way I'm surrendering to Buttnik, seeya!" Manic took off, running as fast as he could down the street, but the Swatbot was faster. It shot at Manic and caught his shoe, and Manic was sent falling to the ground where he lay stunned.

"Ugh!" Manic grunted in pain and fear as he felt a set of cold and hard claws grab hold of him and hoist him into the air as if he weighed of nothing. "He-help!" Manic shrieked in pure panic, though no one was around.

The grip on Manic tightened in response, and Manic could swear he felt his ribs crack. He writhed in pain, desperate to get away, but the Swatbot's hold on him was too strong for the small hedgehog. "I can't believe this is how it ends." Manic gasped breathlessly. Only hours ago he'd managed to accomplish one of his biggest goals, and now he was going to be one of Robotnik's slaves. Fantastic.

The world grew dark as Manic's shock and pain started to take its toll. He was losing consciousness and there was nothing he could do. He felt utterly helpless for the first time in his life. His thoughts wandered away as everything finally faded to black.


	2. Captured

**Here is chapter 2 of Manic the Hedgehog's constant screw ups. Special thanks to my cat Oliver for sitting on me and keeping me warm and entertained while I wrote this. Criticism always appreciated.**

\--

"How pitiful. The hedgehog never lasted a minute, rather disappointing really." The woman had been trailing Manic ever since he had left the sewer, a shining emerald in his hand.

She had watched him strutting around the streets with impatience, waiting for just the right moment to strike, and now a Swatbot had reached him before she could even land a blow, it was rather inconvenient, for now the emerald was going to be even more of a pain to grab.

"I suppose such a beautiful gem would naturally be worth the challenge though." Rouge mused to herself, her gaze on the departing Swatbot, already flying away with it's built in rockets, Rouge would never be able to catch up, her wings simply weren't built for such high speed chase.

Not that it mattered, Rouge already knew exactly where the Swatbot was heading. She'd been watching all of Robotnik's activities for awhile now, and had managed to work out where his closest base of operations was located. She spread her wings and took off to the sky, now dark, though that was Rouge's favourite time of day, as a bat she was naturally more content in the night. Her vision felt sharper too, it was the perfect time to grab the emerald, she knew at this rate there would be no other chance once it landed into the hands of Robotnik.

"That's if the pesky hedgehog still has the emerald, anyway." Rouge sighed, reflecting on how she'd lost sight of him in an alleyway at one point. Only sighting him once again at an old burnt down church. The hedgehog had seemed different after that, less careful and more eager. Rouge wasn't sure what the hedgehog had been so excited about, but she had a feeling it had something to do with the emerald, and she was now more determined than ever to get her hands on it.

Her flight took her to the north of the city, where buildings gave way to a large metal fence. It was no problem for Rouge to simply fly over it, though she silently took note of the attached cameras, and made sure to avoid them.

Stealth was Rouge's greatest strength, and she used it to her advantage always. If Robotnik managed to detect her, there would be trouble. Rouge had watched as unlucky Mobians before her had set off the alarms, and had just as quickly been dragged away by a small army of various Swatbots. She'd never seen them again. She shivered at the memory, though blamed it on the chilly night air and continued towards the base.

Finally, she made it, and without tripping any alarms. The northern base was cold and almost seemed haunting in appearance. Rouge knew that many Mobians had been taken here to lose their will, and to become robotic slaves. She saw them now, patrolling the main entrance.

The robots were difficult to distinguish, it was almost impossible to tell what kind of animals they had been in their previous life. Now they marched back and forth, their blood red eyes glowing menacingly in the darkness.

Rouge acted quickly, flying up to the closest air vent, she lunged towards it, foot first, then she started spinning. "Screw kick!" The vent gate collapsed and was knocked away under Rouge's forceful kick, and Rouge entered the now open vent before the nearby guards could take notice of the damage.

Rouge flinched as the gate of the vent fell down to the floor with a loud clang. She held her breath, crouched in the vent as she heard nearby robots march towards where the vent had fallen.

Her pulse throbbed as the robots drew near, inspecting the broken vent gate on the ground. "Don't send out an alarm". Rouge silently pleaded, her teeth grinding anxiously, the robots far too close for comfort.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the robots drew away, and resumed their positions at the main entrance. Rouge sighed of relief, and started to crawl deeper into the vent.

\--

Manic felt completely paralyzed with fear, or atleast he would be, if not for the Swatbots forcing him to move, dragging him around like a lifeless doll. He would really be lifeless soon, he thought miserably. Once they reached the Robotosizer it would be all over for Manic.

"HEDGEHOG PROTOCOL ENGAGED." Manic was frightened out of his skin at the sudden command of the Swatbot. Why would there need to be a special protocol for hedgehogs anyway? Was Robotnik needing hedgehogs for something in particular?

Manic's thoughts were interrupted when he was suddenly yanked into a white room which held a daunting metal table in the middle, various painful looking tools surrounded it. "Oh boy, I get to be tortured, just great." Manic drawled, as the Swatbot placed him on the table. Before Manic could struggle, metal bands covered his arms and legs, he was trapped.

"Hey man, easy on the bod, I bruise easily y'know?" Manic cringed as the Swatbot, taking no notice of him, prepared to take out one of the tools on the tray beside Manic. "Dude, just like, put me out of my misery already." He was beyond stressed out at this point, his panic was sending him into a borderline fit. His heartbeat was so loud, he wondered if even the Swatbot could hear it.

"Youch!" Manic hissed as a needle jabbed him right in the arm. It was completely unexpected and he'd been unprepared for the sudden pain it caused him. Manic hated needles with a passion and felt sick as his blood was taken from him.

The Swatbot placed the sample in a tray, where a janitor bot immediately took it away, heading out of the room and towards God knows where. "Since when does Buttnik take blood? Is he like, a vampire now?" Manic joked to himself weakly, confusion all over his face.

"Even worse, hedgehog." A sinister voice whispered too close for comfort. "Your worst nightmare." Manic gasped as Robotnik himself loomed towards him. His blood ran cold, and Robotnik smiled, pleased by the look of terror on the young hedgehog's face.

The man was large in size, though only in width. He had a long mustache and a bald head, with menacing red eyes and large teeth, his thin lips twisted into a sneer. The pointy red suit he was wearing only seemed to bring out his roundness, and he looked rather ridiculous with the small yellow cape trailing behind him. However, the most unusual thing about his appearance was his single robotic arm, as if he'd been partially Robotosized.

"What's your name, rodent? If you even have one. My reports show that you was caught stealing, I imagine trash like you wouldn't have a name." The fat man chuckled to himself, it sounded like a cat having a hairball, incredibly unpleasant.

"I do! And it's Manic!" Manic snapped and immediately regretted it, the last thing he should do is hand over information about himself, but being tied to the table and feeling so helpless had gotten him too panicked to think straight. He cursed at Robotnik's widening grin. The man was clearly enjoying Manic's suffering.

"Well, Manic. You clearly aren't one of the three that I'm searching for, I won't even remember your name by the time you've been Robotosized. Guards, take this vermin away and prepare the Robotosizer." At that, Robotnik, ignoring the look of despair and confusion on Manic's face, proceeded to march away.

"Goodbye, rodent." Before Manic could question anything, the Swatbot took him off of the table and started to drag him away once again.

Manic was taken down a corridor, and thrown into a cage. It resembled a jail cell, and he noted that several other cells were next to his own. This room was clearly where captured victims were kept while waiting to be Robotosized.

Manic sat down in the corner of the cell, massaging his aching arm where the needle had been. He sighed miserably, reflecting on his life in his final moments. He had always felt like his destiny was something much bigger than this, it kept him up at night, but now that was all over. Manic would never dream again.

Minutes passed, though they felt like hours as anxiety crawled through Manic's skin. "Man, this really, really blows." He sighed to himself. "What I wouldn't give to get outta here."

He stood up and paced the cell, feeling agitated. Every sense was on alert, and that's when Manic heard a slight shuffle, and another, and finally a soft bang followed by the sound of a piece of metal giving way.

"Is somebody out there?" Manic called, and was greeted in response by a sudden white blur flying into his cell.

"Woah!" Manic cried out as the cell doors were broken immediately under the force of the white blur, and Manic's side was suddenly grabbed and hauled upwards, into the hole of a broken air vent near the ceiling.

"Hey! What-" Manic grunted in surprise, but was suddenly cut off by a finger to his mouth. "Ssh!" A voice whispered firmly, and shoved him forwards. Manic took the hint and started crawling through the vent, the mysterious figure right behind him.

The vent was dark and cold, not to mention far too closed in. Though Manic wasn't claustrophobic, after all a thief like him was used to crawling through tight spaces, though it certainly wasn't the most ideal escape route.

A thought suddenly occurred to Manic. "Hey, what happened to the alarms?" He frowned.

"Deactivated. Keep moving." A gruff voice sounded behind him.

He nodded and picked up the pace, crawling through the twists and turns of the vents as quickly and quietly as he could. If they weren't careful, they would be detected.

Finally, Manic could detect fresh air, and he knew they were coming to the very end of the vent. He sped up, but cried out as he was sent almost falling down a steep drop right to the ground below.

He didn't realize they were so high up, here at the end of the vent they were practically at the roof of Robotnik's base. "Careful, idiot! I'm the one here with the wings." An impatient voice snapped, slipping past Manic and grabbing his bad arm with a yank.

"Ow!" Manic protested, as the stranger hoisted him out of the vent, and flew him up onto the roof.

Finally outside, Manic could finally turn to his rescuer. In the moonlight, Manic studied her features.

She was clearly a female, her black leather costume was tight, and showed off all of her curves. She had big white ears, and darker wings. However, what stood out most was her eyes, a bright glowing blue, with matching eyeshadow to compliment them.

"Woah, never seen you round these parts before." Manic smiled lightly, trying to brighten the situation, though still feeling jumpy. The woman placed a hand on her hip, and looked at Manic up and down, before matching his smile with her own.

"I'm Rouge the Bat. 14 years old, and my weight is... A secret!" She winked at Manic, who stuttered in response, unsure of what to say.

"Oh, and you're Manic, a hedgehog - obviously. 12 years old, a sandwich thief - how desperate. Oh yeah, I read your files on Robotnik's database, so stop looking at me like that." Rouge laughed at the gawping Manic. He was pretty cute for a dopey thief.

"Oh, and I went ahead and deleted the files, incase you're wondering. Wouldn't want ol' Botnik to have your information, you'd be in trouble, considering the Swatbots would have your bounty in their database. You're welcome." Rouge winked once again.

Manic shook himself, finally regaining his composure. "You did that? All by yourself? But how?" He was surprised to meet someone who knew how to get into Robotnik's system, it was unheard of.

"Easy, I own a chip that can override his system, don't bother trying to steal it by the way. I'd only steal it right back." She smirked, her blue eyes sparkling in mischief. "Speaking of stealing, hand over that emerald, hedgehog. You owe me."

"What! No way-" Manic protested, but was once again cut off when Rouge suddenly grabbed him.

"Hey, atleast buy me dinner first." Manic quipped but was ignored by the bat.

"We need to get out of here, the alarms will be back on any moment. Also, Robotnik will have noticed your erm, absence by now." She growled, hoisting him up into the air with a beat of her wings. "Damn, you're heavier than you look, kid." She hissed as she flew the two of them away from the base. She was careful not to fly in the sights of any patrolling robot. Especially since they'd be on high alert now.

"By the way." Rouge began. "Your name, Manic. I'm guessing that they call you that because of your kleptomania, right?" She chuckled at Manic's confused expression. "Clearly someone didn't go to school. You're like, a kleptomaniac, which sounds like Manic, duh."

Manic frowned, finding the bat difficult to understand, but nodded. "I guess it does, and I guess Rouge sounds like the makeup, which is why you're like, covered in it." Rouge rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Yeah, Klept. That's exactly why they call me Rouge." She drawled sarcastically, and this time Manic was the one to laugh.

Rouge swooped low, now back into the city, and a safe distance from Robotnik's base, though looking down she could see dozens of patrol bots down below, and she knew that the city streets would not be a safe hiding place tonight.

"It's your lucky day, Manic. You get to see my very own hideout." Rouge flapped her wings fiercely, picking up the pace, before catching a wind stream that sent her gliding to the west of the city.

"Wow, I was just in the western city a few hours ago, y'know?" Manic noted, though wasn't expecting Rouge's next response.

"I know. That's where I saw you outside the sewer, you were admiring the shiniest gem I'd ever seen. Been trailing you ever since, you really are dense considering you never even noticed." Rouge chuckled as Manic cursed inwardly. He'd been a complete fool to expose the emerald in daylight, where anyone could see it. It was a rookie mistake, and Manic had been making those a lot lately. Perhaps he wasn't the thief Farrell considered him to be after all.

"Oh honey, don't look so downhearted. Look, we're almost there." Rouge glided downwards, and finally landed on a white balcony, illuminated by the moonlight, where she finally put Manic down.

Her aching muscles rejoiced at finally having a break. She'd been working far too hard tonight, but it would all be worth it once she grabbed that emerald from him.


	3. A Date!

**Chapter 3! The plot thinnens. Also sorry but there's a few OCs here, don't worry, they are background characters in order to move the plot forward. Manic is still center stage. Also, this is a bit of a filler chapter, because we're just building up to bigger events. Sorrryyyy.**

\--

Manic entered Rouge's apartment from the balcony, straight into the bedroom.

He noted on how well decorated everything was, colour coded with red, white and gold. However, what stood out most was the large amount of jewelry and gems absolutely everywhere.

They sparkled when Rouge turned on the lights, and Manic was in awe at the beauty. His fingers twitched, and he felt an urge to steal everything he could while Rouge was turned away.

Unable to control the feeling, he yanked a bracelet, but the noise it made as the gemstones knocked together made Rouge's sensitive ears turn, and she spun around to a very bashful Manic.

"Like I said before, Klept. If you steal from me, I'll only steal it right back... And more." She winked, and Manic blushed. "Don't look so hopeful, I'm talking about the emerald. Hand it over."

Before Manic could react, Rouge jumped at him and he fell to the floor. He instinctively reached for his knife, but Rouge was already in his bag, rifling through it. She growled and stood up, tossing the bag to the side. "Not there. Where'd you stash it then?" She loomed close to his face, her hands on her hips, studying him carefully.

Manic growled at her, and pushed her away, though she was quick to recover, flying up and kicking him across the room in retaliation.

His head hit the wall with a crack, and stars spun. "None of your business, batface." Manic coughed out, winded. "It's a secret, and I doubt even I know where it is now, considering it was sent away to an expert in emeralds-" Manic stopped. He'd said too much, he could tell by the way Rouge smiled at him.

"Thanks for your cooperation honey, now why don't you stay the night? You look half dead anyway. I might as well leave you in that corner while I go to bed."

Manic tried to spit back at her, but the events of the day and the hit to his head was leaving him tired and faint.

He gave in and closed his eyes as Rouge climbed into her own bed, wrapping herself under the blankets. Manic was too out of it to even notice her get changed out of her clothes. "Yeah, like, whatever." He sighed and curled up, as darkness consumed him.

\--

"You know, I just realized something. How did you even get into Buttnik's base?" Manic and Rouge were walking together downtown, it was already early afternoon.

Manic had woken up with a major headache, and Rouge had let him use her shower. Apparently he had smelled awful, and Manic already felt much better for it.

After that Rouge had taken him out for a walk. She was behaving as if her attack on him last night had never happened, and it bugged Manic that he just couldn't get an understanding of her. Hell, he still knew nothing about her.

"I have my ways." Rouge took off down the street before Manic could question her further.

"Catch up, thief! We're almost at the finest diner in town, and I'm starved." Rouge called, and Manic cursed before heading after her. He definitely did not like being outed as a thief in public. Annoying bat.

When he caught up to her, he found himself at the entrance to The White Heart. It was the finest diner in town all right, and Manic could certainly not afford it.

"Of course you have expensive tastes. I should have expected it." Manic muttered dryly, earning a chuckle from Rouge.

"Don't worry honey, I have more than enough to pay for the both of us, consider it my little treat." She winked and headed in, Manic trailing behind feeling completely out of place.

Rouge was dressed up nicely for the occasion, her tight black suit from yesterday had been replaced by a purple and pink outfit, with large white boots and gloves.

Manic on the other hand was still wearing his old red jacket, sneakers and his own white gloves, with spiked wristbands around them. He looked like trash in such a nobel infested environment and he hated it.

"Yo, I think I like, would rather die than be seen here." Manic moaned, and this time Rouge outright laughed.

"Relax. A little food and a good atmosphere isn't going to kill you, no matter how much you want it to." She called a waitress over, who showed the two of them to their seats at a table near the window. Manic sat down and gazed out at the passing traffic, feeling a little lost.

Rouge slapped the top of his head with a menu, and Manic cursed loudly in response, earning dirty looks from the nearby clientele. "Oh boy, not even five minutes and I'm already like, public enemy number one." Manic drawled sarcastically, Rouge smirking quietly as she looked at her own menu.

Manic couldn't help but notice a few holes in his menu, and guiltily realised that his mohawk-like quills had probably damaged it when Rouge had hit him. He scanned through the menu, trying his best to decipher all of the different options despite all the damage. A lot of it seemed to be French, and Manic blanched, thinking about snails on a plate.

"If you keep making funny faces, the wind will turn and you'll be stuck like that." Rouge giggled, and Manic sighed inwardly, finally deciding on a simple soup and bread sticks with some extra dip. Rouge ordered something too, though Manic couldn't even tell what it was when it arrived. Though it smelled heavenly.

While he was eating, he had a look around and admired the interior of the restaurant. It was all white and marble, with black stone tables and red sofas. It looked posh, though also had a warm and clean feeling to it.

What didn't look warm however, were all the Robotnik tax paying nobles everywhere. They wore all sorts of silks and fine clothing, hats and scarves, boots and ties.

Manic growled quietly while chomping down on a bread stick. The urge to creep under tables and pickpocket distracted customers was overwhelming. He twitched and tapped his foot, his ears flattened back with impatience. He had to take whatever he could get, he needed to.

His thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, he jumped and looked up, startled to see the waitress looking down at him, her features creased with concern.

She was a cat, her long cream fur was complimented with a smart looking uniform. Manic didn't know what to say. "Excuse me sir, is everything alright?" The cat questioned, and Manic nodded his head quickly, not wanting the attention.

As the waitress walked away, Rouge leaned over to him, a look of amusement on her face, clearly enjoying his discomfort. "Perhaps I shouldn't have brought a kleptomaniac into one of the richest places in Robotropolis." She observed dryly.

Manic scowled in response, his patience thin. "Let's just get outta here already." He growled, and Rouge shrugged innocently. "Wish granted. I already paid the bill while you were staring at people's pockets, so let's hit the road."

[C]--

Manic felt much better away from the diner, especially with his bag, much heavier than before due to his fingers getting a little sticky on the way out of the place.

Rouge hadn't even noticed, and he intended to keep it that way. They'd been chatting ever since, while walking around aimlessly, commenting on anything intriguing as they watched the world go by. Manic hasn't felt this relaxed in awhile, though he still knew nothing about the mysterious bat.

The peace was cut short by a rock song, "Wake the Dead" by Family Force 5 which was Manic's own ringtone. He cursed and grabbed his phone out of his pocket, answering the damned thing as quick as he could. "Yo, Mani." A familiar voice greeted over the line, and Manic recognised the voice of Quil.

Quil was a bird, though Manic was unsure of the breed, he seemed pretty mixed up with all sorts of features from various species. Like a mutt bird. He had teal feathers, that turned pale at the tips, with red markings along his face and sharp yellow eyes. His tail feathers were a mix of colours, and Quil strutted around often, showing them off with pride. He was a thief just like Manic, and one of his closest friends.

"Dude, like, what's up?" Manic replied, and Quil cut straight to the chase.

"Well." Quil's voice sounded scratchy over the phone line. "Farrell just received word from Coal, and we've gotta meet up with him down at the bridge, apparently he's got some information for us that we just can't refuse. Could be the best haul in awhile. Seeya there."

The call was promptly hung up before Manic could accept or reject, and he knew he didn't have a choice.

Manic groaned inwardly. Coal was a huge pain in the ass. He was Colin's younger brother, though the only things they had in common was their Doberman breed and their equally insufferable personalities. The two couldn't stand eachother, which surprised no one. Unlike Colin, Coal couldn't really be trusted, it was hard to tell just who's side he was on- hell, he was on his own side. As a result any meetings with him were always taken place far away from the secret hideout.

Manic wouldn't have anything to do with the dog, but somehow Coal always seemed to sniff out good hauls. He himself wasn't a thief, and so he let Farrell's group in on the locations, in return for a cut of the goods.

Rouge studied Manic silently before suddenly spreading her wings, flying up.

"Wait!" Manic called. "What are you doing?".

Rouge looked down at him, amused at his alarm. "Looks like you've got places to be, thief. It was a nice date while it lasted." She winked and took off without another word.

"D-date?! No way!" Manic spluttered, but Rouge was already gone.

\--

When Manic arrived at the meeting point, he noticed that Quil was there already.

Quil was tapping his foot impatiently, on his own in the shade of the bridge. The bridge was the perfect meeting point, because nobody ever saw or overheard what was going on over the sound of constant traffic, which meant they were safe from spies.

Manic headed over, his hand raised. Quil swiped his own hand forward, getting a good clean high five. "My maaaan." Manic grinned, and Quil gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Heard about ya becoming a real thief Mani, it's about time eh?"

Manic nodded, though feeling a little disappointed that he himself hadn't been able to give the news. It seems that Farrell had already told everyone in the group while Manic was out last night.

"Yo! Pay attention, street rats!" A voice boomed, and Manic had to look up to find Coal, he was standing on a crumbling wall just by the bridge, his black fur looking glossy in the sunlight, his hair looking spikey enough to rival Manic's own.

Manic hoped he would fall off of it. Coal winked and saluted the two before leaping up, landing beside Manic and Quil.

"Were you waiting long?" Coal sneered, tapping his black boots, mimicking Quil.

"Only long enough to consider how difficult it would be to jump you and kill you." Quil shot at him, while Manic sneered back at the Doberman, who seemed completely unfazed by the threat.

"If you killed me, you wouldn't have your next haul, so think more carefully, if you're smart enough." The dog growled, and Manic bristled.

"Alright, alright. Let's just cut to the chase. What do you have for us?" Quil crossed his arms and Coal smiled, far too sweet for good.

"Well, one of my buddies- he works at the new pizza parlor, just opened downtown. You been yet?"

Manic frowned. "Yeah, it's decent. So what?" He was losing his patience.

"Well, my bud tells me that the boss has a party every month, in his mansion, y'hear? And that's not all, he also invites the employee of the month right into the place, they can party with all the nobles there and everything!" Coal paused for a moment before continuing.

"See, then I had this thought. If one of you thieves could go undercover, get a job there and get invited to the party, it'd be an easy way to get right into the mansion, the security wouldn't be an issue. Then all of the treasures in it would be ours, including any nobles that are worthy of your classy pickpocket treatment, heh. So waddaya think?"

"'I'm in." Manic was a pro at undercover stealing. He could act like the best of them, putting on any kind of persona he required for a job. From a threatening street punk to a cute dopey valley boy, Manic was like a master of disguise in his own form.

"I believe in ya, Mani. I know you'll get into that mansion, go ahead the job's all yours. I'm wayyy too busy for a job at the damned pizza parlor anyways." Quil ruffled Manic's quills with a clawed hand, and took off to the sky before Manic could hit the feathery bastard.

Great, now he was alone with Coal.

"I knew you'd be interested, Manic." Coal grinned. "Infact, I already went ahead and wrote a job application for you, all you have to do is hand it in, and hope to Hell that you get a good interview." He handed the application to Manic without another word, and Manic took a look through it.

The application itself was full of lies, including some fake certificates documenting various achievements and school grades. Manic had never even been to school. The application also said that he was 17 years old, and a current highschool student looking for a job on the side. He himself was only 12, though mature for his age, he could easily pass for 17. Albeit an incredibly short and scrawny 17 year old.

"Alright, well-" Manic quickly glanced at the time on his phone. "Looks like the pizza parlor is still gonna be open. I can head on over there right now. Later, dogmuck. I'll get to that mansion before ya know it."

He flipped Coal off, who shook his fist at him in return, which made Manic laugh as he took off, pizza and a certain annoying bat fluttering on his mind.


	4. Pizza Beatdown

**Chapter 4! As usual criticism appreciated.**

\--

Gross. That's all Manic could think of when he walked into the pizza parlor.

The walls were bright yellow, which reminded Manic of puke. The flooring was checkered, giving it a classic American diner look, though the tables and chairs were all a cheap, coffee stained white plastic.

To the far end of the place was a cashier point, where a green duck was tending to a customer.

The diner looked clean enough regardless of the tacky interior, and various Mobians of all shapes and sizes were enjoying their pizzas at the individual tables.

"Hey there." Manic greeted the duck when the queue subsided. "I'm interested in like, a job here. Uh, I got an application filled in and everything." He awkwardly placed it on the desk, and the duck took it, though seemed disinterested before slamming it back onto the desk, which made Manic jump.

"NACK!" The duck screeched, making several nearby customers look up. "NACK! A guy here wants the job!"

A door slammed open in response, and a purple canine looking creature walked through, sporting a brown hat, matching boots and a long tooth. "Can it Bean, I heard ya the first time. So is the guy worth a cent?" Nack studied Manic closely.

"Of course he is!" Bean chirped, pulling a startled Manic towards him. "Look! He has a shiny!" The duck pointed towards Manic's gold ear studs, and Knack whistled.

"I guess the kid's got taste, well ya better come with me, for an interview, uh what's your name again?"

"It's... Manic." He felt worn out already by the duck's antics, and the interview hadn't even begun yet.

He was lead by Nack into another room, followed by Bean. This room was clearly Nack's office, there was a desk and chairs to sit on, with various documents around the room.

"Bark!" Nack snapped. "Get ova' 'ere!" A moment passed before one of the largest Mobians Manic had ever seen stomped into the room. He was a polar bear, and was just as wide as he was tall. He looked like he was made of muscle. He had a hat and scarf on, as if he was cold despite his thick pale fur coat.

The bear stood in the corner of the room, watching the three smaller Mobians without a word.

"This is Bark the Polar Bear, he don't talk, so don't bother trying to chat with the big lug." Nack then gestured to Bean. "That's Bean the Dynamite, you'll get used to him, maybe. Also, I'm Nack the Weasel- I'm the manager here."

Manic took a seat, and grinned warmly at the three. "I'm Manic the Hedgehog. Like it uh, says in the file, I'm in school right now and am hoping for a job to do on the side." Manic felt a little guilty about lying to the three, though as a thief and a trickster, he was quite used to it, and the lies slid off his tongue as naturally and as smoothly as the truth.

"Typical. Alright then Manic, I've got a few questions for ya before I can consider hiring you, so get ready." Nack paused before beginning with the questions. "First of all- in the event of any uh... Legally grey or downright illegal activity, you ain't gonna be no rat... Are ya?"

"Uh no." Manic frowned. Why would a pizza parlor need such information?

"Good. We like to keep our employees loyal y'know, like family and all that good shit." Nack rolled his eyes and Bean snickered.

"Yeah, so no messing up our business, if you wanna stay in the business!"

"Yeah, yeah. No ratting to the health inspector or whatever, next question." Manic was just wanting to get this over with already.

"I have a question!" Bean piped up. "Why are you trying to steal my style, eh? I was green here first, I'm the original green one!"

Manic was taken aback though kept his cool. "Sorry dude, but I'm afraid it's duck season, I'm here to take your place."

Bark snorted at that, and Bean squeaked as Nack slammed his fist on the table. "Shut it, bonehead! I'm the guy asking the questions here."

"Why can't I ask any questions?" Bean questioned.

"Because I said so." Nack snapped back.

"What about me? I'm feeling like, so left out not being able to ask any questions, man." Manic drawled.

"Why are your quills so stupid looking?" Bean shot at Manic.

"Why is your beak so big, do you like, use it to swallow your own shit?" Manic shot back.

"Why do you like, talk so uneducated? Rather odd for a school boy." Bean observed.

"Oh yeah? How did you even land a job here, I'd say even this clientele is too classy for you."

"Oh really? Big talk for a guy with no job. Does mommy not give out an allowance anymore?"

"Would you both SHUT UP?" Nack screeched.

"Would you stop being so loud? The customers outside must think someone is being murdered." Bean muttered mutinously.

"You WILL be murdered if you keep this up!"

Bark remained silent.

"Hey, why are you such a dick?" Manic growled at Bean.

"I'm a duck, not a dick!" Bean shouted back. "But you know what? You're a prick!" Bean cackled, pointing at Manic's messy quills.

Even Manic had to laugh at that one. "Hey, I think we're gonna get along." Bean grinned, shaking Manic's hand.

Nack shook his head, looking as if he would prefer to be anywhere but here. "Well, I can't fuckin' remember what I was gonna ask now. You got the job Manic, 'grats." This time he was the one to shake Manic's hand.

Bark nodded towards Manic before leaving quietly. Manic was too dumbfounded to react. Was this how interviews were supposed to go? Either way, Manic now had a job.

"So, do you guys... Actually own a mansion?" Manic dared ask. Immediately, Bean and Nack erupted into laughter, which made Manic feel silly.

"Hell no! You think we own a mansion? No, no, no. You're thinking of the owner of this place, he's a nobel." Nack pointed at a framed picture across the room, showing what looked to be a pale pink Poodle, draped in silks and furs. Typical nobel.

"Yeah! He invites the best employees to his mansion party every month! So far only Nack has been, but I'm aiming to be the next one there, so don't try to stop me!" Bean launched at Manic, but Manic easily swatted the green bird away.

Bean countered with a kick, that Manic countered with his own. "Boys! Boys!" Nack snarled. "No fighting in the house!"

"Sorry, mom." Manic and Bean both drawled sarcastically in unison. This was going to be an interesting job, Manic realised, and no matter what Bean said, Manic was definitely going to get to that party.

\--

"So, Knack, like, why'd you set up a pizza parlor in the dead center of Robotropolis anyway? There's better places out there... Probably."

Manic had never been out of the city, though he knew that there was a lot of towns and villages out there, and also knew that they were taxed and milked like Hell by Robotnik.

"That's easy. Despite the high taxes, we've barely got any competition, 'cept for that place that serves the French shit."

Manic had to nod at that. It made sense, Knack clearly knew what he was doing. Though Manic was still confused as to why such an odd trio would open a pizza parlor of all things.

Not only that, but Manic wanted to meet the nobel who'd helped the trio set-up the place, the same nobel that invited the very best employees into the mansion every month.

Of course, first Manic had to learn the ropes of his new job. Nack had been teaching him how things worked for the past hour, and now Manic knew how to man the till.

He was still figuring out how to calculate the finances, though Nack reassured him that it was actually Nack's duty to do all that crap, and that he'd just been pulling Manic's leg.

Manic himself was partnered up with Bean, the two of them took it in turns to work the cash register, take orders and fetch food out to the customers.

Since Bark couldn't talk, he was in charge of the cooking. Another Mobian was always out on delivery duty, and Manic guessed that the guy was Coal's friend who had informed Coal of the mansion deal.

"I'd like two chillidogs with the works, pal." A high pitched voice sliced through Manic's thoughts. It seemed familiar but he wasn't sure why.

"Uh, what?" Manic blinked dumbly, and the hedgehog in front of him tapped his foot and scowled impatiently. What a bitch.

"Chillidogs!" The guy cried out, and Manic sighed internally.

"Dude... This is a pizza parlor. We only serve like, pizza, man." He stared at the blue hedgehog, trying to keep his quills from bristling. Customer service was hard.

"Laaame. I'm outta here, later punk." Before Manic could respond he had to shield himself as something that felt like a tornado crashed into him. It was over as soon as it happened, and when Manic looked up the hedgehog was gone, and several chairs and tables were out of place. What the hell was that?

He left the till to clean up all the mess, and growled to himself quietly until Bean approached him, helping him out. "That blue bastard back again, eh? Yeah, he really wants chillidogs for some reason." Bean chuckled as he put a chair back into place.

"God, why are customers so difficult? It's just pizza, man." Manic groaned, and Bean laughed harder.

"We're located at the dead center of Robotropolis, we're basically a magnet for weirdos. Yourself being a good example." Bean quipped, dodging to avoid Manic's slap. "Speaking of weirdos... Looks like we got two drunks coming in."

"Oh boy." Manic frowned, looking outside the windows. Yup. They were definitely drunk. The sky outside was a reddish orange, it was evening already and now Manic had to suffer his first evening shift, the time of day when all kinds of troublemakers ran loose.

The two drunks entered the parlor, and Manic noted that one was some kind of insect, which was a common animal in Robotropolis, and a large bobcat. Bean scuttled to the till in preparation.

"Oi. Give's a pizza." The bobcat slurred. He looked like he was looking for a fight, especially with the way he growled out his words. Bean was half the cat's size, and wouldn't stand a chance.

Manic instinctively placed his hand where his knife was concealed, ready to take it out if the bobcat made any wrong move.

Manic flinched when he noticed that the insect was staring right at him. He realised that his body language was revealing too much about his intentions, and the insect was on high alert.

"Hey, Bobbi." The insect sneered, it's jaws turned upwards almost unnaturally. "I think this guy got a problem. He's lookin' at us funny."

Before Manic could respond, a large crowd of people entered the parlor, and took over half of the seats of the place. Oh shit. Manic realised they couldn't cause a scene with so many customers around.

"No, no man, you got it wrong, I don't want any trouble." Manic pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears when the bobcat approached him, his fist flying.

Manic's instincts kicked in, and he rolled out of the way as fast as any good hedgehog could. He took out his knife and slashed at the cat's arm, who screeched in alarm and pain.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" A nearby crowd screamed in the background, and suddenly an all out pizza flavoured brawl broke out in the parlor.

Plastic chairs were thrown around, Bean himself was thrown around, Manic threw himself down for cover, all the while fists were being thrown ten fold.

"What the fuck is going on!?" Nack boomed, slamming his office door open so hard it almost flew off of it's hinges. He took out a gun and shot up at the ceiling. _BANG_. Screaming erupted as panicked civilians ran around the place. Though others didn't pay attention, too Hell bent on punching the shit out of eachother.

Bark ran over and punched the first bobcat right in the face, blood splattered onto a nearby table, a kid licked it off his finger, complimenting the tomato sauce recipe. Manic was contemplating suicide.

Suddenly an explosion was heard in the far corner of the parlor, the only noise loud enough to be heard over it was Nack shouting "Bean, what did I tell you about setting off bombs indoors?!" Manic dived for cover, confused as fuck.

Suddenly a foot came out of nowhere, kicking him right in the ribs. He howled out in pain, rolling over and getting up, charging towards the attacker with his knife.

He hit cleanly, slashing an open wound, blood gushed out right into his eyes. Fuck, that really stung. Whoever the Hell kicked him was now running away, a new Manic special signature scarred on his body. Manic chuckled as he wiped the blood away from his face.

He had to roll out the way to avoid getting hit by one of the plastic tables, thrown by God knows who at this point.

The whole place was a mess, and Manic was on high alert. He looked to his left and saw Bark wrestling with the bobcat, clearly winning. The bobcat looked like he was regretting being born at this point, clearly he knew he'd fucked with the wrong pizza parlor.

When Manic looked to his right he found Nack and Bean tag teaming some college thugs, Nack slapped one of them clean unconscious with the back of his gun. While Bean bashed a few skulls in, laughing maniacally, he looked like he was enjoying himself.

Manic cried out as he was tackled out of nowhere by something heavy, his knife was sent flying across the room and Manic swore loudly, face to face with the insect that had started all this shit.

"Time to ruin your dopey little face, pretty boy." The bug sneered, it's claws too close for comfort.

Manic was stunned by the thug's three sets of arms, pinning him down with an iron grip.

"I don't think so, pest control has just arrived!" A voice called, and just like that the bug was sent up into the air by a very familiar kick.

It was basically Rouge's signature move at this point.

The bug hit the ceiling and a crack was heard as the wooden beams connected with it's head. Then it fell down and hit the ground with a slam so hard, everyone momentarily stopped fighting to look at the carnage.

"Damn." Manic whistled. "I'm glad I wasn't on the receiving end of that, this time." He sighed of relief and grabbed Rouge's hand when she helped him up.

"Well, when I heard that you'd landed yourself a job at this dump, I didn't expect that it would be so exciting. Where do I sign up?" Rouge smirked, her sharp teeth showing.

"Look out- behind you!" Manic let out, but Rouge had already turned around and slammed her elbow into the approaching thug's face.

The guy howled and staggered back, before slipping on some pizza and falling on his ass.

Rouge promptly kicked the guy right in the stomach, sending him falling out of the door face first into a puddle outside. "Another one bites the dust. Or in this case, the water." Rouge chuckled.

The fight was finally starting to die down. Though luckily no one had actually died. Most of the thugs had ran away by now, dragging any unconscious friends behind them. What an eventful first day.

Bean, Nack and Bark looked unharmed. Though the entire parlor was a mess. It looked like a bomb had gone off- then Manic remembered that a bomb really HAD gone off.

Bean looked sheepish. Nack looked pissed- scratch that. Extremely pissed. Bark looked pretty satisfied with all the hits he'd landed. Manic gulped, wondering if he should give up on the employee of the month achievement.

"What did I tell you boys about fighting in the house." Nack's eyes were sharp enough to rival Manic's knife.


	5. Rock and Roll

**Incase y'all are wondering, this chapter took awhile because I deleted and redid half of it as I wasn't happy with the direction it was going.**

**The club featured in this chapter is the same club in episode 1 of Sonic Underground, where Sonic, Sonia and Manic first met eachother.**

\--

The pizza parlor was as dim as the atmosphere. Manic, Bean and Bark had been cleaning up the joint for what felt like hours now, and the sky outside had long since turned dark.

Everyone was pretty miserable after Nack had grilled them so hard that Manic's ears still felt red hot with the shame.

Somehow he hadn't been fired, and now he was just starting to finish up cleaning the tables. Bean was wiping the windows, and Bark had been sweeping the floors.

Manic's ears perked up when he heard the front door open, Nack was coming back to them now, with a cigarette in his hand. Smoke wafting up into the vents in the ceiling.

"Boys." Nack growled coldly. "Get your hides over here, it's about time we closed up for the day."

Manic stepped forward, but suddenly the world fell away from him, he hit the ground hard.

He must have slipped on some pizza or something, before he knew it all the stolen goods in his bag from earlier that day spilled out onto the floor around him.

"The fuck is this?" Nack growled, picking up a gemstone necklace. "You a thief? You been stealin' from my fuckin' customers?!" Nack glared down at Manic, who blanched.

"No, no way man! I stole em before I even came here, while I was at a restaurant with Rouge!"

"The bat, eh?" Nack and Manic turned their attention to her. Bean and Bark hovering in the background.

She somehow looked both amused yet disappointed at the same time. Clearly he should have told her earlier about all the shit he'd been stealing, for some reason it felt wrong for him to keep things from her, though he didn't know why he felt this way.

Rouge had been watching the boys clean up ever since the fighting ended. She'd decided to stick around just incase any more riffraff arrived.

"Look, boys." She placed her hands on her hips with a frown. "I'm not interested in getting involved, I'm out." Without a glance at Manic, she turned around and walked away.

Every step she took made Manic's heart ache, but he had more pressing matters to attend to, and at the moment one of them was glaring down at him.

"Get up, thief." Nack growled. "Next you're going to tell me that you ain't really in school, are ya?" He snapped, and Manic nodded guiltily.

"Knew it." Bean sniggered, causing Nack to spin around on the duck.

"Get out, the both of you. I don't want to see either of your asses for a good long while." Nack snarled, and both Manic and Bean didn't need to be told twice.

Manic looked back at Nack once more as he left the parlor, and the hardened thief couldn't help but flinch at the look of disappointment on Nack's face.

\--

"You really screwed yourself over, Manic. Nack can't stomach liars."

Manic ignored Bean and kept walking. The last thing he wanted was to be dealing with the pesky duck, and yet Bean had insisted on following him, wanting to know where Manic really came from.

The metallic buildings of Robotropolis towered over them both oppressively as they crossed streets and slipped through alleyways. They'd been travelling for awhile and Bean was shivering, not suited for being out so late at night.

"Would you cut that out?" Manic snapped, his patience running thin. "Any dodgy character around these parts will think we're vulnerable, and may even be hungry for a fat chicken like you."

Bean stuck out his tongue. "They'll just have to settle with my bomb down their throats! C'mon Manic, let's go someplace warm already, it's freezing out here."

Manic rolled his eyes. He himself couldn't feel the chill, he was used to it.

Then, he brightened up. An idea was forming in his mind. "Dude, I know just the place where we can hang at this time of night. One of the best clubs around, I even get to wail on the drums there."

"Sounds utterly explosive! ...On my eardrums." Bean muttered sarcastically. "Alright, lead the way city boy."

Manic did so with gusto. Bean was utterly lost in the maze of shortcuts Manic took through the most ugliest parts of the city. Bean himself would have never dared venture into such grime if he'd been alone.

The walls of the city streets may have once had a metallic gleam, but these days they were tinted green with pollution. Rats scurried on the littered floors that Manic walked along with unwavering confidence. This was his home.

Discarded broken machinery lay in piles along the deserted street, and the air was so thick with dust and dirt that Bean felt like his lungs were clogged up. Not to mention the bad smell, likely coming from the nearby sewers.

Manic had brought Bean to the very bowels of the city and even the mad duck himself was starting to question Manic's sanity.

"You look like duck season came early." Manic chuckled, a look of fake innocence badly disguised his mischievous face.

Bean made a face and opened his beak.

"Ssh!" Manic whispered before Bean could say anything. "Listen to that jam. We're just around the corner from the club now."

Bean strained to hear what Manic was talking about, and as they rounded the corner Bean managed to catch the sounds of a guitar, it was playing a rock song, the sounds of the smooth guitar solo leaking through the door of the club, attracting anyone walking past. The club promised good music.

Manic lead Bean to the entrance of the club, which Bean likely would have missed otherwise. It blended into the metallic walls surrounding it, practically hidden. Nobody would have seen it from a distance, and in the bowels of the city it was truly hidden away from nobels and Robotnik's Swatbots.

The inside of the club didn't look very special. The walls were just the same on the inside as they were on the outside.

Though, what did stand out was the huge copper coloured stage right in the middle of the club. Sets of tables and chairs surrounded the stage, where patrons of the club sat and cheered for any musicians on the stage.

The stage itself was geared up with different musical instruments. It was lit up by overhanging white lights, making the stage almost shine compared to the rest of the dark interior.

At the far end of the club the customer toilets could be found, along with a large bar featuring a huge selection of various alcoholic beverages. A black and white cat dressed in a bartender uniform was serving Mobians around the bar.

"Grab something to drink. I'll be wailing for awhile." Manic jumped onto the stage before Bean could respond and approached the drum kit sat in the middle of the stage, behind the guitarist.

"Mind if I sit in, dude?" Manic asked the guitarist, twirling his drum sticks at the guy, who nodded while still jamming on the guitar.

"Sweet." Manic sat at the drum kit and swiped at the cymbals and drums, getting into the rhythm of the guitar.

It didn't take long for them both to be rocking the whole house. Mobians in all different shapes and sizes crowded around the stage, cheering and jumping around to the beat of Manic's drums.

Even Bean was enjoying himself, he hadn't realised that Manic was such a talented musician.

Suddenly, another Mobian jumped onto the stage, a microphone in their hand. They were covered by a hooded robe, and so neither Manic or Bean could tell what they were.

The guitarist nodded towards the cloaked figure, who in return stood in the middle of the stage in front of the two musicians, and began to sing.

She was definitely a female. Her voice was feminine as it was powerful. The voice of a rockstar goddess, it echoed around the club as she sang out the lyrics to her own song. It sounded good, and it matched the beat of Manic's own drumming quite nicely.

The audience went wild, cheering louder than before, and as the night went on Manic and the two other players ended up performing several different songs, including covers of Manic's favourite bands.

They sounded good together, and when they split up for the night, Manic just had to find out who they were, especially the singer.

He went towards her, ready to introduce himself, but before he could the girl suddenly jumped off of the stage and ran out of the club, the dark cloak she was wearing billowed around her as she delved into the night, and Manic ran out after her only to find that she had vanished.

"Nice try. But you'll never catch her." A voice sounded behind him, and he spun round to see the guitarist from earlier. He was a red wolf, sporting a black and red jacket with matching boots, with silver studs standing out on his dark outfit. He had a long, fiery tail that had a slight twist in it and black tipped ears.

"But who is she?" Manic asked, perplexed at the mysterious singer's sudden disappearance.

Bean was beside Manic now, he'd left the club after seeing Manic run out, he watched the two silently with badly disguised interest.

"No idea." The wolf grunted, but then he sneered, his sharp teeth showing, white in the dark. "Though I'm betting she's one of them students, sneaking out at night. That's why she's so fast to leave, and so secretive too."

Bean smirked at that, an impressive accomplishment for one with a beak. "I thought I knew a student, earlier today." He nudged Manic teasingly, who shoved him in response.

"Yeah? Well." The wolf eyed the two of them thoughtfully. "If you want to find her, you should try that old underground school. Anyway, later. Good drumming by the way." The wolf gave the two a casual wave as he headed back into the club.

Manic knew what the wolf had been talking about. There were various hidden schools dotted around Robotropolis, so that poorer Mobians who didn't have the deep pockets of a nobel could still have a chance at an education.

They were kept well hidden to prevent raids from Robotnik, especially considering a lot of the schools were ran and funded by the Freedom Fighter organisation.

Manic himself had never been interested in attending school, he learned all that he needed from Ferrell in the thieves hideout.

He began walking down the street, away from the club, Bean following.

"So, what now? I'm getting tired." Bean yawned dramatically to highlight his point.

"Well man, you can get your hide on a bus back to the pizza place, and beg Nack to let you in, I'm sure the guy must have cooled down by now." Manic suggested, and Bean nodded at that.

"Sounds reasonable. In that case, I'll be seeing you." Bean stepped forward before pausing and looking back.

"Oh, and Manic? I'm sure Nack will give you another chance. Even if you are a total nut!" The duck laughed loudly as he ran off out of sight before Manic could attack him.

Manic went his own way, his hands in his pockets. He trudged down the various streets and roads to get to his next destination, the hideout.

The hideout itself wasn't too far from the club, which was another reason why Manic loved the club so much, it was local and a great hangout for him and his thief friends. A lot of dodgy types were quite welcome at the club, so long as they behaved. There were no rats there to report incidents to Robotnik after all, though real rats scurried around outside of the place.

Manic finally arrived, entering the secret passage and sealing it shut behind him. He was feeling dead tired after the events of the day. The earlier fight felt like it had happened a lifetime ago, but combined with all the travelling and rocking out, it had really taken it's toll on Manic.

He headed into the bedroom quarters of the hideout, where he could hear the soft snoring of his companions, already asleep.

Manic hadn't been here for a couple of days now, but his bed had been kept nice for him, which he appreciated. The thieves took good care of one another.

He curled up into the blankets, thinking about the mysterious singer, before closing his eyes and gradually drifting off to sleep. Tomorrow he would visit the pizza parlor again, he hadn't given up on his mission just yet.


	6. Forgiveness

A new character appears! Also, we've got a lot of talking and development in this chapter. Yay.

\--

"Come oooon, Nack!" Bean stretched out his words like a child begging for an overpriced toy. "Please, please, please, please, pleeeaaase!"

"No." Nack growled firmly. Bean had been begging him to give Manic another chance all morning, and he was getting quite sick of Bean and his brand of crazy. The damned duck was stubborn and could not understand the answer no. He really was a total child.

"I'll give you one of my shinies! How bout that?" Bean grabbed at Nack's legs, grovelling on the floor and Nack kicked him away with a snarl, showing his large white teeth. Bean wasn't phased.

"No means no, and I don't care about your stupid shiny crap." He growled at the duck. He was just about ready to kick Bean out onto the streets again, just like he'd done yesterday evening.

He'd heard about Manic's performance at the seedy little club down an old pissed up alleyway last night, Bean had excitedly told Nack and Bark all about it at the doors of the parlor, whilst begging to be let inside, his fist banging on the glass doors.

Nack had finally given in and had let Bean back into the parlor, though only because a small part of him deep down inside didn't want the small duck out all alone at night, especially in the shithole of Robotropolis, filled with the grand canyon of cunts as it was.

Though admittedly the crazy duck would probably take care of himself just fine. Though may end up blowing a few heads off in the process. Nack would rather avoid such a drama.

Frankly, the weasel could not be assed to deal with any kind of trouble at the moment, and Manic reeked of trouble.

Hell, he apparently also reeked of the sewers. From what Bean had told him it seemed like Manic was rather well met with the most shit of shithole streets in Robotropolis, and Nack wasn't surprised. Of course the little liar would live and breathe in scum.

"But Naaaaack!" Bean whined loudly, interrupting his thoughts. "Manic could play some music in the parlor, I'm telling ya Nack, all the folks in that shabby club last night loved Manic's drumming."

"We'd just be attracting more filth. I don't want any more of those types, hell we've only just managed to clean up the damned place from yesterday's shit fest." Nack growled and stomped off into the kitchen, ripping the back door open and slamming it back shut as he leaned against the wall at the very back of the pizza parlor.

He sighed and lit a cigarette, inhaling it greedily.

Jeez, that bird really knew how to wind him up. Likely because Bean knew he was the only Mobian on the planet who could get away with it. Anyone else would have had their brains blown out by Nack's trusty gun by now.

He heard the door opening and spun around with a look of pure rage on his face, ready to strangle an intruding duck, until he saw it was Bark. He calmed down immediately and stood back, letting the silent bear stand beside him, like a silent comfort, they both understood eachother without words.

They were both like this for awhile, just stood still, taking in the chill morning air. Well, at least Bark was. Nack was smoking like a damned chimney.

He finally finished his cigarette and tossed it aside, he could care less about keeping the streets clean. Robotnik could eat shit for all he cared about the fat bastard's city.

"Listen here." Nack looked up at Bark's stoic face and continued on. "You don't think that spiney rat Manic should have another chance, do ya?" He looked into Bark's eyes for a long moment, as the silence drew out between the two.

A heartbeat passed, and then another.

Nack turned around and sighed heavily, crossing his arms.

"I see. Guess I'm outvoted then."

By the time Manic awoke, it was just past noon. He cursed loudly as he got out of bed. He hated wasting the day.

He threw on his red jacket, slipped his white gloves and wristbands on, and stepped into his sneakers before heading downstairs into the main room of the hideout, where most of the thieves would relax and eat.

The others were already gone and Manic had regrettably missed breakfast. As his stomach growled miserably, he remembered the events of yesterday and groaned inwardly.

The pizza parlor, of course. He'd have to go back and ask Fang to forgive him, otherwise the mission to get to the mansion party at the end of the month was over by day one.

One of Manic's many qualities was that he was a pretty stubborn hedgehog. He would not let yesterday's fuck ups ruin the haul, and he wanted to do whatever he could to increase the chances of Fang forgiving him. He would even beg.

"Mani." A calm deep voice sounded behind him, and Manic smiled.

"Hey, Ferrell. Waddup?" Manic turned around and gave the larger Mobian a fist bump. Far too awkward to hug the guy, though he used to. Ferrell had been a father figure to him after all.

"You've been gone for awhile, Mani. Obviously busy with something good, I look forward to seeing what you end up getting in this next haul. Though Mani, about the gem you found..." Ferrell began.

"What about it, Ferrell?" Manic asked. He'd forgotten about that gem, though it seemed that ever since he found it his life had become a whole lot more complicated than before.

"Well, I had it looked at by that expert I told ya about, and it's the real deal, Mani. It's a Chaos Emerald. These babies are incredibly rare, and valuable. Not to mention powerful."

Manic frowned at that, confused. "How can a piece of jewelry be powerful?"

"I don't know Mani, even the expert has never known anyone capable of actually harnessing the power that the emerald contains. Though a few legends exist around it, mostly revolving around the ancient Echidna race."

Ferrell was boring Manic to bits with this drawl about legends. "Alright, alright. So like, how much cash are we getting for it?" Manic demanded.

"Patience Mani, though I like your eagerness." Ferrell smiled at his apprentice. "I'll let you know when I get a good deal on it."

Ferrell was fantastic at dealing goods, Manic often wondered how such a creepy looking insect could talk and haggle so smoothly with the finicky nobels. He trusted Ferrell to get the best deal possible on it.

Manic nodded and gave Ferrell a friendly wave goodbye. "Alright, catch ya later Ferrell, I'm off!" He ran down to the entrance of the hideout, leaving it and closing it behind him as Ferrell called out his own goodbye.

Outside, the early afternoon sun shone down on Manic and he cringed before slipping on his red sunglasses. They had a sporty style that suited him well, and somehow they fit just fine on his head despite all the quills.

He walked down the street, whistling a tune to himself before finding a bus stop by the road.

He leaned against it, waiting for the bus that would take him to the pizza parlor. He didn't feel like walking around the city today after the exhaustion of yesterday. Hell, even the day before that had been tiring.

Suddenly, something burst with a loud pop right into Manic's ear, and he jumped up before spinning around to face the source of the noise, his hands on his daggers.

Then, he found himself face to face with an equally surprised looking girl. Her yellow furred head was surrounded by a mane of purple hair fanning around her body. Though most notable about her appearance to Manic, was the pink bubblegum covering her face.

"Ummm, woops! I think your quills totally popped my gum while I was blowing a bubble. Sorry for the scare." She hurriedly cleaned herself up and squished the gum onto the bus stop, where it stuck.

Manic chuckled at the girl's embarrassment. "Oh, no worries. As a hedgehog I'm like used to this kind of shit."

The bus pulled up, and they both got on and sat together, chatting away for the ride.

"So, where are you heading?" The girl asked, twirling her hair around her fingers.

Her actions were somehow very distracting for Manic, but he responded anyway. "The pizza parlor, y'know, in the middle of the city?"

"Oh yeah! I go there all the time after school. So you're a fan of pizza huh?"

"I guess." Manic shrugged. "But actually, I work there. Or at least I did."

"Oh? What happened?" She frowned. "You got fired?"

"I uh, guess." Manic repeated. "Though I'm gonna try and get my job back and ask the manager for forgiveness, y'see I kinda started a fight yesterday."

"Wait. You was the one who did that?! Oh my God, like, everyone on Mobiusbook was talking about it."

Manic had no idea what the Hell she was talking about.

"Dude, that's like soo rock and roll." She gushed. "I'd love to help you get your job back, I'll tell the manager that you're a great guy, and that ten out of ten would soo recommend you."

"Ah, I don't think that'd do much. Though come in and watch me get my ass handed to me if you like." Manic winked and she giggled.

"Oh yeah, like what's your name anyways?" Manic asked her. "I'm Manic the Hedgehog."

"Nice to meet you, Manic the pizza brawler." She giggled again. "I'm Mina, Mina the Mongoose."

Something about Mina seemed familiar, though Manic wrote it off.

The bus stopped at the parlor, and they both got off, heading into the building. "Here we go." Manic muttered, as Bean waved at him from the cashier point like a windmill on drugs.

"Manic!" Bean shouted, causing several customers to look up. "You're back!"

"That's right, I'm not giving up that easy, even if the pay here sucks." Manic drawled, and Mina laughed.

"Ohhh? Who's this?" Bean looked up and down at Mina.

"Oh I'm Mina, hi." She answered politely and Bean introduced himself to her in return.

"Bean the Dynamite! At your service."

Mina put one hand on her hip and twirled her hair with the other, her face curious. "Why do you call yourself a dynamite?"

"Because he blows." Manic cut in and Bean let out a squawk of disagreement.

Mina laughed at that and Bean flipped Manic off, who returned the gesture with both hands.

"Swearing at my employee? Actually I don't blame you. Keep it up." Nack approached the three, Bark right behind him. "Manic, let's talk." The weasel grunted, his face betraying nothing.

"Yeah, look Nack. I never meant to start a fight, I'm just a pretty defensive guy. When I see someone who looks like trouble I get all jumpy." Manic thought about how Bean had seemed to be in danger at the time, and he knew that he'd only wanted to protect the duck from the two thugs.

"Yeah. I talked with Bean about it and he said that you had immediately put your hands on your daggers as if they were a part of you. You're obviously not a student, and you're obviously some kind of trained ruffian to be that quick in such a fucked up situation." Nack's eyes seemed to be tunneling into Manic's skull. He was clearly studying Manic's capabilities, he knew Manic was hiding things from him.

Manic sighed, he knew that he couldn't admit that he was a hardened street thief, but he didn't know what else he could say to explain his abilities.

"That, and your knowledge of the streets. You even know about the most fucked up areas that a kid of your size and age wouldn't normally go anywhere fuckin' near. What's the deal with that?" Nack's questions were making Manic feel interrogated. "Bean told me about how confident and carefree you behaved in those areas too, obviously you frequent them. Just who are you?"

Manic glared at Bean from the corner of his eye, and Bean looked away trying to appear innocent. Loudbeak.

Though when he looked back at Nack, Manic flinched at the look of fury on his face.

"Look man." Manic began hesitantly. "I know you're mad that I lied to you, but all I can say is that I meant no harm with it, I just like, needed a job. My life is kinda fucked up, as you've noticed. I don't want to say shit about it though, so judge me as you will. I just want my job back, dude."

Nack growled at Manic, the pure aggression made Manic's quills stand on end. He resisted the urge to get into a defensive position. He needed to be friendly. Not only that, but Mina was still there, it would be bad to start a fight right now.

Nack seemed to notice Manic's discomfort, and turned away for a moment. He folded his arms and let out a long sigh. "Consider yourself lucky, Manic. My two boys decided to give you another chance." Nack nodded towards Bean and Bark, who both looked back at Manic, betraying no emotion.

"That's great!" Mina grinned, grabbing Manic's shoulder supportively, though the action made Manic jump a bit. Damn, this atmosphere was far too tense.

"Yeah, like thanks for giving me another chance guys. I won't let you down this time." Manic meant every word.

Nack turned back towards him.

"If you lie to me ever again, Manic." Nack paused for a moment, lowering his voice as he stared at Manic straight in the eyes. "I'll personally make sure that you leave this world with a bang."

Manic nodded hurriedly. "Yeah, got it." Even Mina looked disturbed at the threat. Manic hoped that he didn't look like that too.

"Good. I'm going out for a fuckin' smoke." At that, Nack promptly prowled away to the back entrance, and left the others alone.

Bark gave Manic a nod, before leaving for the kitchen.

Manic, Bean and Mina were finally left to breathe easy. Manic felt light headed with relief. He'd gotten his job back, the mansion job was no longer in danger. He'd secured it again.

"Phew! That was like, so intense. Who knew pizza places contained so much drama." Mina whistled, and Bean agreed.

"Sister, you ain't seen nothing yet." Bean chirped.

Manic swatted the dumb bird away. "Go do something useful and ask Bark to make us a pizza, we like so gotta celebrate me getting my job back."

\--

Nack was sitting on a wall, looking out over the city. He had a cigarette in his hand, slowly taking it in, savouring the feeling it gave him. Why does everything bad make you feel so good?

Speaking of bad, the city truly looked like shit. It was nothing like where he came from. Now that place was beautiful. The land of jungles and deserts, adventure and discovery around every corner.

He mused quietly to himself like this quite often. It always helped him calm down just to be away from all the pissheads that insisted on pressing every single button he had.

Manic had seemed pretty genuine earlier, but Nack could tell that he was still hiding something. Nack could always sense a warrior, a fighter, a survivor. After all, he was one himself.

Manic wasn't telling the full story about himself, he clearly had a secret life. Nack ground his teeth in frustration.

"I guess he doesn't have to tell me about himself. After all, he's just a fuckin' employee. Nothin' special. It's not like we're friends or anything..."

But the words felt meaningless on his tongue. Although he'd only known Manic for a day, he had immediately felt a kind of connection with him. He felt as if they'd both been created with the same cloth, and he could tell that Bean and Bark felt the same way.

That's why they'd employed Manic so quickly, that's why they'd given him another chance.

Nack supposed the reason that he'd gotten so angry at Manic, was because he cared about the guy. He didn't want the green idiot to ruin everything for himself.

_Great_. Nack cursed to himself at his thoughts. Just _great._ Now he cared about the welfare of not one, but two crazy, unpredictable, green knuckleheads.


End file.
